I am in the midst of the Derbalife “Skate Faster Challenge”. It’s currently week 4, and I expected to feel a sort of rise in my training at this point, to feel like I might not be working so hard. The first couple of weeks were going great for me but I fell off the wagon and I have really, really been slacking on my workouts. But I have so many great excuses! I’m moving, there’s so much packing to do! I lost my job and with it my sense of routine! Conveniently the batteries in my scale decided to quit, preventing me from tracking this digression. This is the week I get back on track! Every joint and muscle in my body is telling me it’s time to rally, and in an awesome coincidence, the sun has decided to grace the northwest with it’s warm shiny rays!

The last two weeks were not all doom and gloom, part of the challenge is my food log. Everyday I make a note of what I eat and when, then submit it to the ever encouraging Krissy Krash to council me on my nutrition needs. Knowing that a respected peer would have intimate knowledge of my eating habits, I shaped up right away (although last week in Vegas was ugly – martinis are high in protein, right?). I didn’t want her to see how often I snack during the day and what constitutes a “meal” when I am home alone, so I just started eating better and making my snacks more reasonable (she informed me that a slice or two of cheese is a good snack! Hallelujah!). When I find myself in a restaurant I look at the menu and wonder which option will both satisfy my taste buds as well as gain the approval of my derbalife coach. It’s certainly been a challenge, and I don’t always make the healthiest choices, but I’m at least thinking about them consistently.

This weeks challenge email included a recipe for fettuccine alfredo, which made me feel better about having it for dinner twice last week. Until I moved in with Mr. Fever I thought alfredo sauce came from a can. I just never made sauce from scratch. I didn’t even think about it. Incidentally I never realized how bad it was for you. The sauce he makes is divine and always comes with the warning ”this isn’t low-cal”. Well duh. I saw how much butter went into that stuff! Now with the majority of my groceries coming from our local food bank, my meals for the week are shaped by what I am given. Last week I ended up with several cans of evaporated milk. Hmm, pumpkin pie? The can label had a recipe for some sort of casserole. Inspiration! I would make a cream sauce without cream!

Okay, I love food. I spend a lot of time cooking and a lot of time eating. I might even go so far as to call us “foodies” but I hate that word. Anyway, back to the cream-less cream sauce! It was a glorious experiment and I highly encourage you to try it at home! You will need:

1 can evaporated milk

1 Tablespoon powdered milk

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 white onion chopped

6 cloves garlic chopped/crushed

olive oil

1 Cup veggies of your choosing (I like zucchini and broccoli, but spinach and mushroom would be good too)

1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese

red pepper flakes/salt/cayenne/oregano whatever you like to season with

penne pasta

So, you know the drill with the pasta. Cook to al dente. Heat up some olive oil in a sauce pan and saute your veggies, onions and half the garlic until tender. Remove from the pan. Next pour in your evaporated milk and whisk in the flour and powdered milk over medium heat. Once you get a few bubbles put in the rest of your garlic. Make sure skin doesn’t form over the milk, stir consistently at a simmer for about 8 minutes. The liquid should reduce about one third. Taste it and add salt/pepper etc to your liking. Next add the parmesan and all your sauteed veggies. Once it comes back up to a simmer you are done! Spoon it over your pasta and indulge!